Pricing and New Name Revealed for SteamOS Powered Handheld

Valve made a great choice when they allowed third party manufacturers to create SteamOS powered hardware, the same strategy behind Android and what most likely contributed to its huge market share. If Valve can pull off the same with SteamOS, that is something that only time will tell, but it looks great up until now.

We’ve previously seen a lot of known vendors presenting their SteamOS powered devices and we’ve also had a glimpse of the SteamBoy handheld gaming device. The SteamBoy is now officially unveiled under its new name, the portable Smach Zero Steam machine and it is going to start shipping by Q4 2016 with pre-orders starting November 10th, 2015.

The specifications aren’t anything that will blow us away, but it’s decent. You get a 5-inch touch screen with a 720p resolution, 4GB RAM, and 32GB storage space. It is also possible to expand the storage with the use of SD cards. It features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G LTE connectivity and also an HDMI output for gaming on a bigger screen. There wasn’t any word on what CPU it will use.

Smach, the company behind the device, is confident that it is enough to deliver a great experience in popular games such as Dota2, Half-Life 2, and Civilization V. I question the last one, especially in a late-game on a huge map full of cities and land improvements.

The good news is the price and the Smach Zero can be pre-ordered through the company’s website for $299, but not until November 10th. That is about the price of a “normal” smartphone – and it’s pretty much just that, except that it’s loaded with SteamOS and has the added controls on each side.